Will Guatemala-Mexico Freight Train Be Reactivated?
The long-awaited railway connection between the two countries depends on the rehabilitation of the Doctor Rodolfo Robles bridge in Ayutla, San Marcos, which would be done this year.
According to the Guatemalan Ministry of Communications, under current conditions the bridge cannot support the load of a locomotive and using that section would be a high risk.
Because of this, the government plans to invest about $3.3 million in the work focused on strengthening the bases of the structure, works that will be tendered in a contest expected to be published in late April and would be awarded during the next three or four months. However, this investment corresponds to 50% of Guatemala's side, so Mexico will have to do the same with the other percentage in its territory.
Regarding other complementary works for the operation of the railway connection, Luis Fernando Villatoro Shack, administered by Ferrovías de Guatemala (FDG), told Prensalibre.com that "... there is a progress close to 90% in the area where the dry port Tecún Umán will operate, which in turn will be a fiscal complex and from where goods will embark or disembark both those going north and those entering the region."
Villatoro added that "... the construction of a new warehouse is about to be completed, as well as the installation of a platform (a cement platform for maneuvering loads), where the railway terminal would operate. These works would be completed no later than May."
The initial idea proposed from 2015 is that the Mexican train known as "La Bestia", enters Guatemalan soil through Tecún Umán, where it will receive cargo to be transported from Central America to Mexico and the United States.
The project that intended to connect the Tecun Uman San Marcos line with the line belonging to the Compañía de Ferrocarriles Chiapas-Mayab de México will not be viable before 2017.
The initial idea put forward by President Maldonado in 2015 was that the Mexican train known as "La Bestia" (The Beast), would enter Guatemalan soil through Tecun Uman, where it would receive cargo to be transported from Central America to Mexico and the US.
Although the start date had been was agreed as December 2015, it has now been announced that construction of the roads that connect will Tecun Uman with Chiapas, Mexico, will start in April.
It has been announced that as of December 15th the Tecún Uman San Marcos line will connect with the mexican Compañía de Ferrocarriles Chiapas-Mayab in order to transport cargo from Guatemala.
The Mexican train known as "The Beast", will enter onto Guatemalan soil through Tecún Uman, where it will receive cargo to be transported from Central America to Mexico and the United States.
Problems persist in the process of reviewing merchandise at the border posts in Amatillo and La Hachadura causing delays to cargo trucks.
Double review processes, recurring failures with x-ray machine inspection and the absence of a contingency plan for unforeseen delays has generated delays of between 19 and 23 hours for the approval of entry and exit of goods, said the Salvadoran Association of International Freight Carriers (ASTIC).
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